Former President Herbert Hoover expresses his preference for typewritten letters for the sake of efficiency, but since "the typewriter is a poor method of conveying emotion," he handwrites this letter in order to "convey more than usual wishes of a happy and prosperous New Year."

Herbert Hoover knew the value of his handwritten letters, as he himself was a collector of autographs. Amongst his collection was Mark Twain, Queen Victoria, and, most valuable, according to Hoover, a letter of Bayard Taylor – the poet, travel writer, and great chronicler of Palestine and the Levant.